Link in bio pic.twitter.com/03D8oQvoOc

— SAULT (@SaultGlobal) November 1, 2022

Now… if you’ve ever gotten to know me, you may be aware that I’ve got a special place in my heart for music that is surprising. Whether it’s general amazement at the talent of a band like black midi, or the whimsy and mysticism of The Smile; I love a secret, I love a surprise. That being said, if any project has spent their time really leaning into the element of surprise, then SAULT are the one to take the crown – in my opinion. Since their debut, 5, back in 2019, the group have maintained a level of mystery rivalling that of Daft Punk, other than the almost obvious production credits from Inflo, and vocal appearances from Cleo Sol and Kid Sister; everything else is pretty much under wraps. The group have never played live, released a music video, or given an interview; they also have quite a substantial list of unnamed collaborators.

I mused back in April, after the group gave us their last offering – Air – that there would be another release this year. So even if I didn’t figure out the passwords for myself, I’ll feel good about myself. My speculation may not have been spot on, but the parallels to the 99-day release window for last year’s Nine meant that something had to be brewing.

After a quick listen to each of the LPs, there are some obvious directions that can be seen in previous works. Airr, for example, follows the more symphonic, ethereal style of April’s Air. (Untitled) God seems obviously in sync with its other Untitled siblings, Earth leans more into African-style dance music, while Today & Tomorrow could have easily been written 50 years ago. With 11, I’m continuing my semi-grounded conspiracy that 5, 7, and 9 are all one continuous project and constantly being updated. I think it fits musically, and thematically. Good luck with those passwords.

If the project has anything in the way of themes or consistency going for it, then we may be in for another sibling album to match Air. 2019 came with albums 5 and 7, then 2020 brought Untitled (Black Is) and Untitled (Rise). 2021 then gave us Nine… which didn’t come with a pair, but maybe this can be lumped in with 5 and 7 to give us a trilogy? I don’t know. Maybe we’ll get another surprise SAULT album called Fire, or Water in the next few months… both? But Nine was given a bit of a special release last year anyway, only making itself available for 99 days after release, so maybe that one doesn’t count. Regardless of its unorthodox release, the album was still nominated for the Mercury Prize.

Air is now on sale now at SAULT’s online store. You can look into =bagging a physical copy here. Presumably, this will come with the usual proceedings we’ve come to expect. That being: not a lot. If you’re not able to get ahold of a physical copy though, you can still get usual access through streaming or Bandcamp, and I do recommend that you do. Air is a little different to SAULT’s previous output, its suspenseful choral sounds take a very different path to what we’ve heard so far. However, if you were into SAULT for Cleo Sol’s vocals then you might be disappointed with the level of input she seemed to have this time around.

Inflo is almost ubiquitous in UK music despite most not knowing his name or who he is. Many would be surprised to know he is the leader and main producer of the band SAULT, a band known for their intersection between neo-soul, chill-hop, funk, and UK rap.

In the last 6 years, Inflo has  produced a critically acclaimed string of albums, starting with Michael Kiwaunka’s Love & Hate, Jungle’s For Ever, Little Simz’s GREY Area and Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, and most recently, Adele’s 30.

With the last two aforementioned albums, Inflo has credits on two of the five albums nominated for BRIT Awards’ album of the year.

He has also produced albums for fellow SAULT member Cleo Sol, both Rose in the Dark and last years Mother. 

Not only is he the first Black artist to win in this award category, but indeed the first non-white person to win it at all.

“There is no one more deserving of this award”, says rapper Little Simz.

“Flo is a true creative in every sense of the word. Music is in his DNA. He really loves, lives and breathes this.”

Speaking of the win, Inflo says “I feel honoured to be a part of change.

“All the Black producers before me, I’m in awe and have studied you. I am you. Thank you for both paving the way and for your integral contribution to British music.”

The award, traditionally given to producers of rock and indie music, including producers like Paul Epworth, Brian Eno, and Peter Gabriel, is now being increasingly given to artists of electronic and hip-hop music. 2020 saw Fred Again win the award, an artist who went on to produce for drill artist Headie One. Now with Inflo, we are seeing the industry increasingly recognise the underground music emerging from the UK.

This years BRIT Awards is to be the most ‘inclusive’ iteration of the ceremony, with the erasure of gendered categories for the Best Artist catergories, along with more female artists nominated than ever before. Voting for the BRIT Awards closes on the 3rd of February and can be found here.

The shortlist has been shared on social media and includes five debuts: Arlo Parks, Celeste, Black Country, Nubya Garcia and Berwyn.

The 2021 Hyundai Mercury Prize Shortlist has been announced!

Congratulations to:@arloparks@berwynberwyn_@BCNRband@celeste@floatingpoints@THEREALGHETTS@Hanpeel@lauramvula@mogwaiband@nubya_garcia@SaultGlobal@wolfalicemusic #HyundaiMercuryPrize pic.twitter.com/Z728zcSuXR

— Mercury Prize (@MercuryPrize) July 22, 2021

The list also includes Wolf Alice, who won the prestigious award back in 2018 for “Visions of A Life” and acknowledgement for their debut album “My Love Is Cool” in 2015. Mvula was nominated twice before, in 2013 for “Sing To The Moon” and in 2016 for “The Dreaming Room“.

Arctic Monkeys, PJ Harvey and Laura Marling are the only ones with three nods each, and Harvey is the only artist with two wins.

“The Mercury Prize is known for championing a wide range of musical genres, with Primal Scream winning the first award in 1992 and artists including Ms Dynamite, Pulp, Dave, Roni Size, Skepta, Elbow, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and The XX among the acts who went on to claim the prize“. 

The records will be judged by a panel of music critics and industry professionals. This year it will be three-time nominee Anna Calvi, Dj and radio presenter Annie Mac, Musician Jamie Cullum and last year winner Michael Kiwanuka.

The 2021 eligibility period for best album ran from 18th July 2020 to 16th July 2021. David Wilkinson, A mercury Price chairman said that even though last year has been challenging, “creatively, this is shaping up to be an exceptional year for British music – with so many outstanding albums“.

The gala will take place on 9th September at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. More info about it can be found on the official website.

See the shortlist for Hyundai Mercury Prize 2021:
Arlo Parks: “Collapsed in Sunbeams”
Berwyn: “Demotape/Vega”
Black Country, New Road: “For the First Time…”
Celeste: “Not Your Muse”
Floating Points / Pharoah Sanders / The London Symphony Orchestra: “Promises”
Ghetts: “Conflict of Interest”
Hannah Peel: “Fir Wave”
Laura Mvula: “Pink Noise”
Mogwai: “As the Love Continues”
Nubya Garcia: “Source”
Sault: “Untitled (Rise)”
Wolf Alice: “Blue Weekend”

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat

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SAULT as a musical collective produce a delicate balance between soul, R&B and house into their music. This balance, as well as their enigmatic status, reluctance to give press interviews and keeping very little about them as a band known by the public, is what adds to their charm and success. Their newest album “NINE” is the perfect representation of this. Back in 2020 Alexis Petridis, from The Guardian, commented that “over the last two years, Sault’s music has arrived out of the blue: no interviews, no photos, no videos, no live appearances, no Wikipedia entry, a perfunctory and entirely non-interactive social media presence” – yet, despite the absence of these popular interactions, SAULT have continued to rise in success. Even Petridis granted their 2020 album “Untitled (Rise)” five out of five stars. “NINE” – their fifth studio album – follows on from “Untitled (Rise)” as well as their other 2020 album “Untitled (Black Is)” which also received critical acclaim.

Whatever SAULT were doing back in 2020 clearly worked. The same can surely be attributed to their latest album, which features ten new and brilliant tracks. Amongst the varied track list can be seen an appearance from British rapper and singer Little Simz. This appearance takes place on the single “You From London“. This collaboration, between Simz and SAULT, is a reminder of SAULT’s first four albums which highlighted the R&B collective’s appreciation for their producer for their producer Dean “Inflo”. “Inflo” was titled winner of the Ivor Novello award for his involvement with Little Simz’ album “Grey Area“. We can only expect great things for all of their efforts into “NINE“.

 

 

 

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Sault NINE tracklist:

1. Haha
2. London Gangs
3. Trap Life
4. Fear
5. Mike’s Story (feat. Michael Ofo)
6. Bitter Streets
7. Alcohol
8. You From London (feat. Little Simz)
9. 9 
10. Light’s In Your Hands

You can listen to the album here.

This year has not been an easy one. However, it has certainly underlined the importance of music and the role it has to play to unite us, heal us and make the hard times more bearable.

These are our favourite albums for 2020 x#RTTop100https://t.co/wxjLOSljGa

— Rough Trade (@RoughTrade) November 10, 2020

Precious little is known about Sault’s origins and make-up other than a handful of credited guest appearances; including Mercury Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka and Laurette Josiah on Untitled (Black Is). What is certain is that they are a prolific bunch. The Guardian highlighted this neatly in their review of Untitled (Rise), the September successor to Black Is.

They wrote: “Sault seem to use the time they save by not promoting their albums or engaging with the public profitably. ‘Untitled (Rise)’ is not only their fourth album in 18 months, it’s their second double album in just over 12 weeks. It’s a work rate that would seem remarkable at any point in pop history, but feels positively astonishing today, compounded by the fact that its predecessor gave the impression of having been largely written and recorded in response to the murder of George Floyd, less than a month before it was released.”

British-Japanese singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama comes in third on the Rough Trade list with her first full studio album Sawayama, which the label describe as “a giant megazord of monster pop, built to defeat the drab mundanity destroying our lives“. In a statement shared by Pitchfork earlier this year, the London-based artist described the album as “…about understanding yourself in the context of two opposing cultures (for me British and Japanese), what “belonging” means when home is an evolving concept, figuring out where you sit comfortably within and awkwardly outside of stereotypes, and ultimately trying to be ok with just being you, warts and all.”

Also featuring in the Rough Trade top 5 are Laura Marling’s seventh album Song For Our Daughter, which Rough Trade describe as the folk singer’s “most tranquil, clear and idyllic to date“; and Beyond The Pale, the debut LP from Jarvis Cocker’s latest musical incarnation Jarv Is… In the absence of live shows, the Pulp frontman recently announced a cinematic tour of the new record which is scheduled to begin next week.

The other UK-based acts featuring in the top 10 spots in Rough Trade’s list are Anglo-Icelandic punk-pop trio Dream Wife with their sophomore album So When You Gonna…; Geordie Rockers Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (aka Pigs x7) with their third record Visceral; Hull ‘gothic shoegaze’ merchants Bdrmm with Bedroom; and Brighton quartet Porridge Radio with Every Bad, which Rough Trade praise for its “searing riffs and melodic incantations“.

Elsewhere there are nods in the Top 100 for Manic Street Preachers frontman and guitar hero James Dean Bradfield; Leicester indie-pop veterans Cornershop; Wembley-born Hollywood star and hip-hop artist Riz Ahmed; and Welsh electronicsongstress Kelly Lee Owens. The full list of Rough Trade’s Albums Of The Year 2020 (from 100-1) is as follows:

100 – Caleb Landry Jones – Mother Stone
99 – Yumi Zouma – Truth or Consequences
98 – Caroline Rose – Superstar
97 – Keeley Forsyth – Debris
96 – Monophonics – It’s Only Us
95 – Pinegrove – Marigold
94 – Khruangbin – Mordechai
93 – Rival Consoles – Articulation
92 – Clipping – Visions of Bodies Being Burned
91 – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension
90 – Destroyer – Have We Met
89 – Adrienne Lenker – Songs and Instrumentals
88 – Chats – High Risk Behaviour
87 – Bob Dylan – Rough And Rowdy Ways
86 – Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats – Unlocked
85 – Wire – Mind Hive
84 – Bent – Up In The Air
83 – Chuck Prophet – The Land That Time Forgot
82 – X – Alphabetland
81 – Slow Pulp – Moveys
80 – Bonny Light Horseman – Bonny Light Horseman
79 – Rudy De Anda – Tender Epoch
78 – Jason Isbell – Reunions
77 – Grimes – Miss Anthropocene
76 – Public Practice – Gentle Grip
75 – Disq – Collector
74 – Bambara – Stray
73 – Dan Michaelson – Colourfield
72 – Riz Ahmed – The Long Goodbye
71 – Cherry Pickles – The Juice That’s Worth The Squeeze
70 – The Nude Party – Midnight Manor
69 – Action Bronson – Only For Dolphins
68 – Field Music – Making A New World
67 – Bananagun – The True Story Of
66 – James Dean Bradfield – Even In Exile
65 – Max Richter – Voices
64 – Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
63 – BC Camplight – Shortly After Takeoff
62 – Sneaks – Happy Birthday
61 – Video Age – Pleasure Line
60 – Everything Is Recorded – Friday Forever
59 – Mark Lanegan - Straight Songs Of Sorrow
58 – Nicolas Jaar – Cenizas
57 – Ghostpoet – I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep
56 – Thundercat – It Is What It Is
55 – Chicano Batman – Invisible People
54 – King Krule – Man Alive
53 – Habibi – Anywhere But Here
52 – Agnes Obel – Myopia
51 – Freddie Gibbs & Alchemist – Alfredo
50 – Nick Hakim – WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD
49 – Jessy Lanza – All The Time
48 – Bob Mould – Blue Hearts
47 – Aqulies Navarro + Tcheser Holmes – Heritage of the Invisible II
46 – Dehd – Flower of Devotion
45 – Pole – Fading
44 – Shopping – All Or Nothing
43 – Mush – 3D Routine
42 – Heliocentrics – Infinity of Now
41 – Romare – Home
40 – Yaeji – What We Drew
39 – Damaged Bug – Bug On Yonkers
38 – Big Moon – Walking Like We Do
37 – Olafur Arnalds – some kind of peace
36 – Nation Of Language – Introduction, Presence
35 – Margo Price – That’s How Rumours Get Started
34 – Keleketla! – Keleketla!
33 – Coriky – Coriky
32 – Slift – Ummon
31 – A Certain Ratio – Loco
30 – Four Tet – Sixteen Oceans
29 – Courtney Marie Andrews – Old Flowers
28 – Kelly Lee Owens – Inner Song
27 – Brigid Mae Power – Head Above Water
26 – Isobel Campbell – There Is No Other
25 – Run The Jewels – RTJ4
24 – Georgia – Seeking Thrills
23 – Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death
22 – Beths – Jump Rope Gazers
21 – Yves Tumour – Heaven To A Tortured Mind
20 – Hazel English – Wake Up
19 – Kamaal Williams – Wu Hen
18 – Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud
17 – Thurston Moore – By The Fire
16 – Tom Misch / Yuseff Dayes – What Kinda Music
15 – Caribou – Suddenly
14 – Idles – Ultra Mono
13 – Osees – Protean Threat
12 – Oklou – Galore
11 – Cornershop – England Is A Garden
10 – Rolling Blackouts – Sideways To New Italy
9 – Porridge Radio – Every Bad
8 – bdrmm – Bedroom
7 – Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals
6 – Dream Wife – So When You Gonna…
5 – Jarv Is – Beyond The Pale
4 – Laura Marling – Song For Our Daughter
3 – Rina Sawayama – Sawayama
2 – Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
1 – Sault – Untitled (Black Is)